Lily's and the Mauraders lives until their deaths
by kolbster42
Summary: This is a combination of many fanfics I will be giving credit to the Fanfic Author every single chapter. I have noticed that there are alot of fanfics like this but have never been finished please enjoy.
1. Lily Evans Part 1

**Chapter 1 **

**This chapter belongs to .1**

It was a sunny day in the hills full of flowers and trees. The daffodils swayed in the breeze of a light wind across the hill. In the distance was a small boy with scruffy black hair and a long overcoat along with short jeans. He was sitting under a large tree overseeing the entire field. This boy's name was Severus Snape. This young boy was no ordinary child, for he was a wizard.

Then he saw a sight of curiosity and wonder. Two girls were standing opposite each other looking down. One of the girls was a skinny girl with long black hair and surprise in her eyes. The other was a healthy looking girl with light brown hair, who was holding out a flower in her hand. The flower was floating in her palm and the petals were curling in to the center. When the petals all met in the middle, they turned into a butterfly-like creature.

The black haired girl hit the butterfly out the others hand and yelled "You're a freak, lily!" though the brown haired girl walked away from her. The black haired girl tried to catch up and told her to come back.

Severus emerged from behind the tree trunk where he was hiding and saw the girl, Lily, coming towards the tree. She stopped when she saw him and asked his name, "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Severus Snape. What is your name?" he replied.

"I'm Lily Evans. And _that,_" she pointed to the other girl, "is my sister, Petunia."

"Who are you talking to Lily? Is he a freak too?" Petunia called.

"What does she mean by a freak?" Severus asked, curious.

"I can do things no-one else can." Lily replied.

"Things like this?" and Severus reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper which turned into a bundle of grass in between his fingers.

"Another freak! You two are the same. I'm telling mum!" Petunia shouted at Lily.

"Don't worry about her. She is just jealous of you. You and I **are **different, but not freaks. I'm a wizard and you are a witch."

"That's not nice."

"No really. A witch is a female who has magical abilities."

"Really? This is true? Why are my parents and sister not magical then?"

"You are a muggle-born witch then."

"What is a muggle? Is it rude?"

"A muggle is a non-magical person. A muggle-born is a witch or wizard who has muggle parents."

From that day forward, Severus and Lily became close friends throughout the summer. The day before start of school term was when Lily got a letter from a mysterious place called Hogwarts.

"Hogwarts is a school for people like us."

"Will we need anything for this school?"

"Here is a list." Severus said as he passed Lily a note with a strange assortment of objects.

Strange objects are needed for this mysterious school. Lily stared at the list in confusion.

"A wand, a cauldron, owl, frog, cat?"

"These are a list of things for Hogwarts school. The pets are optional, but all the others are needed."

"Where can I get all this equipment?"

"A place called Diagon Alley"

"Where is that?"

"I'll take you there later today. I will be with my father."

Later that afternoon, Severus was waiting for Lily with his father, Tobias Snape. Tobias was a tall black haired man who resembled Severus immensely except his eyes.

"Severus!" Lily cried as she approached them.

She was with her parents, who left her in the company of Tobias as soon as they could. When they had walked away, Severus and Lily were lead into a building which had been out of use for some time. As they entered, the sign outside showed the letters 'The Leaky Cauldron'. Inside where round tables surrounded by chairs and a long bar at the opposite end of the room.

"The usual Mr Snape and Master Snape?" said the old man serving drinks to men at the bar.

"Not today, Tom. I'm taking young Severus and his friend, Lily here to get school supplies for Hogwarts."

"Oh. So I shall see you some other time then Mr Snape?"

"I think so, Tom."

And with a hearty chuckle, Tom returned to serving drinks. Meanwhile, Tobias turned on his heel and walked towards a squared wooden door at the end of the room. He turned the handle and the door swung open to reveal an alley. The alley was only a few meters long and a few feet wide. At the end was a brick wall which looked like it was impassable. Tobias reached in his coat and pulled out a long stick, which he said was a wizarding wand, and tapped four bricks lined in a square. When he put his wand back, the bricks stacked and revealed an opening to a colourful street full of people.

"This is Diagon Alley, Lily," Severus told her.

"It's wonderful, Severus," Lily replied.

"You shall buy your wand at Ollivander's, your books from Flourish and Blotts, and your robes from Malkin's. Eeylops sells pets if you want any, but we will have to go to Gringotts first to get some money. Oh, I forgot, your parents gave you muggle money so we will have to convert in to galleons, sickles and knuts. Let's go there now."

At the end of the street was a tall white building laden with gold and guarded by a strange little creature. This creature was a goblin, clever but not so friendly. It gestured to let them inside to reveal rows of goblins stacked with paperwork. At the end of the hall was another goblin behind a tall desk. He acted as if Severus and Lily were not there.

"Hello, Mr Snape. How can we help you?" asked the goblin.

"My son would like to make a withdrawal and his friend needs to convert some muggle money," Replied Tobias.

"Certainly. Right this way. Griphook!" he called and a short young goblin walked up to Tobias and held out his hand for the key. Tobias handed him a small golden key. Griphook then lead them to a door which lead to an underground cave with a cart on rails. They entered the cart and it sped off into the distance. They turned and swayed down the tracks and stopped at a large room locked with a giant padlock. Griphook inserted the key and turned it. The door swung open to reveal a small pile of gold coins. Severus reached in and grabbed a small bagful of gold. They then returned to the hall and Lily took out her money and gave it to the goblin at the tall desk. The goblin placed the money in a counter and handed her wizard money of the same value. Ten sickles and 4 galleons.

"Let's buy our things." Severus said excitedly.

"Yes. Let's go now." Lily replied.

And with that they ran out of the bank and into the street to collect their wizarding supplies for Hogwarts.

**Please Review**


	2. Lily Evans Part 2

**Lily Evan's, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew's Life until their deaths**

**This Chapter Belongs to Bethany1**

**Chapter 1**

The Evans were perfectly normal, they liked to think. Daniel Evans, a lawyer, and Christine Evans, a home-maker, had a mortgage, a car, a dog and two daughters, Lily and Petunia. They were a very smart looking family, fair skin, average intelligence. Just your normal happy couple, with two kids and a dog.

However, normal wasn't the word of the household in July of 1971. Far from it, as a matter of fact.

This particular evening, Mr. Evans was sitting down to his evening coffee when his eldest daughter, Petunia - fourteen - came flying down the stairs, her heavy footfalls loud enough to make one think the top part of the house was falling through to the bottom. Breathless, she skidded to a halt in the kitchen doorway, her sharp eyes wide and her mouth open. "She's doing it again Daddy!" Petunia shrieked, pointing a rather bony finger towards the stairs behind her.

Mr. Evans forced his face to stay neutral through this display, as hard as that was. Petunia did have a way of making the most normal of conversations bring on headaches with her shrill voice. When she was shrieking - as she was doing now - it was only a matter of time before a near-by glass shattered. Drawing a collective breath, Mr. Evans looked up at his firstborn, looking decidedly puzzled. "Again, Petunia dear? Who's doing what?"

Tall and awkward, Petunia came into the kitchen further, her long face grimpsing. "You know! Lily! She's doing it again!"

It, had yet to be told, but the father of the two young girls wouldn't be blissfully ignorant for long. Lily, his youngest at eleven, had slid into the room through the living room doorway opposite of Petunia, her pretty face hid as she looked down, auburn hair covering her head and shoulders. It was odd, for sure, that one daughter had turned out so homely and bony, and the other so soft and pretty. But so it had happened.

"Well!" Petunia bellowed, and again Mr. Evans forced himself to not wince. "Tell him!"

Lily seemed to shrink as both her sister and father's gaze landed on her. Which would have been a feat, indeed, since Lily was short for her age as it was. At that precise moment, Christine Evans came up behind Lily, a bright smile on her face that faltered the moment she gazed at the two serious faces, and Lily's, which was brimming in tears. "What's going on?" she asked in her soft voice, putting a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder.

Lily, however, finally made up her mind that she was not going to disappear, though she certainly would have loved to at that point. So it was only a matter of moments before she would have to tell her parents that, once again, she had made something strange happen. And as a result, the recent peace between her and Petunia was gone, because her older sister had called her a freak and went storming down the stairs to tell the entire house as much.

So upset by this, however, Lily couldn't help but think that maybe she _was_ a freak. For as long as she could remember, weird things happened around her. When she was five, she and Petunia had been playing with Barbie's and her older sister had stolen Lily's out of her hand. The result was that the Barbie reached up and slapped Petunia. Over the years countless other things of that nature had happened when Lily got upset or angry. Her second grade teacher's hair had suddenly turned a violent shade of orange as she was scolding Lily, and the play ground bully had long left her alone since the last time he came near her, the back of his pants split wide open.

But, then again, the kids at school thought she was a freak for all of that, too. Just like her sister thought it. And, deep down, she was afraid that her parents would start believing it, too. Lily lifted her chin, determined to not show how much that latter thought bothered her. "Petunia grabbed my diary, and when she ran into the hall with it, the rug pulled, went out from under her and she fell. But I didn't do it!" she insisted at once, shaking her head. "I wasn't even in the hallway!"

"That rug wouldn't have moved by itself!" Petunia shrieked from the other side of the kitchen. "It's laying on carpet, and it can't slide! You did it!"

"Now Petunia, dear, that's a little far fetched, don't you believe?" Christine asked, squeezing Lily's shoulder. "Lily couldn't have made that rug move. And you shouldn't have taken her diary, anyway. Now give it back."

Petunia stared defiantly at her mother, her mouth open in what was an amused balance between shock and horror. "But Mum! You know she did it! She's a freak! Always making-" They never did quite find out what Lily was always doing, for at that moment Daniel stood up, pointing a firm finger to the stairs. "Petunia, that is the last straw!" he bellowed, anger making his features contort. "You are grounded until further notice!"

Petunia seemed unable to draw words, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, but no sound coming. Her green eyes, not as bright or piercing as Lily's, seem to flash red with rage. Without a word she stomped out of the room and up the stairs where she promptly slammed her bedroom door closed so hard that the chandelier on the ceiling shuttered in response. Daniel sat down again, picking up his coffee cup. Christine walked around to the sink, as if such an occurrence was normal in the household, and began washing up dishes. Lily stared at her parents, wondering why they believed her. It never occurred to her that she was youngest, and her parent's favorite. For that wouldn't have been right, and Lily couldn't bring herself to think things of that nature.

Instead, head bowed, she picked up her diary that Petunia had thrown to the floor, and quietly climbed the steps to her own room. She laid on her stomach, pulled a pen out and began writing in the diary.

_30 July 1969_

Dear Diary,

Well, I did it again. This time it was the rug in the hallway. When Petunia grabbed up my diary and ran out of the room with it, it pulled out from under her and she fell. Mum and Dad believed I didn't do it, but I feel guilty, because I did do it. At least, I think I did. The rug was flying in the air next to my door like magic as I came out.

Like magic. Funny how things happen like that. I once read about magic in the library, but it wasn't helpful. The simple theory of witches, wizards and magic has been smoked out for ages. Maybe Petunia's right, I'm just a freak since there is no such things as witches. Would I want to be a witch, anyway? I'm probably the only one, and then everyone would make fun of me still. Sad way to start your life, you know?

I'm going to go to bed now, I believe. At least in my dreams, I'm not a freak. Good night.

Love,  
Lily

Lily stuffed her pen and diary under her mattress and changed into a gown. She looked around her room to make sure everything was in order and climbed under the sheets, fighting off tears as she fell asleep.

The next morning was Saturday. It meant she could sleep late, eat when she pleased, and not get dressed until she took the notion. Her father worked only during the week, which meant that her parents slept in on the weekends, as well. Drearily Lily noted the calendar as she laid awake in bed, thinking she wasn't quite ready to get up. It was four weeks until school started, which meant another year of listening to people whisper everywhere you went, the flames of gossip fueled by her past happenings, as well as her sister. At roughly nine thirty, Lily rolled out of the bed as the smell of eggs and bacon drifted up the stairs and into her room.

As she entered the kitchen, she found her father sitting at the same place he had sat last night at the table, opening the morning paper. She sat next to him, watching her mother finish cooking. Petunia, still in bad temper, came down the stairs not too long afterwards, sitting at the opposite end of the table and staring at the polish wood surface.

The distinct sound of the mail slot being pushed open came to their ears. And Lily would have ignored it for a moment or so, except it was soon followed by the door bell ringing. Lily looked at her parents and sister, but none made a move for the door. Getting up, she sleepily walked towards the living room and grabbed the mail off the floor before pulling open the front door.

For a second, Lily was confused. There was no one at the door. She took a step out, looking both ways, but still nothing. Shrugging, she stepped back in and was about to close the door when a large brown barn owl swept into the house, landing on the banister and looked at her. Lily and the owl stared at each other for a long moment, before Lily finally found her voice and did the only thing an eleven year old female would do. Screamed.

Mr. Evans came running down the hall almost instantly, followed by his wife and lastly, Petunia. Lily backed up against the opposite wall, and the owl, looking rather put out, stayed put. Vaguely Lily wondered if an owl *could* look put out when her father seen it. Behind him, her mother gasped. He tried to shoo it away, but the owl remained put, staring at Lily. And that's when Lily noticed for the first time it's claws were clamped onto an envelope.

Curiously, Lily stepped forward. "Daddy, wait, it's holding something," she nearly whispered, advancing on the owl despite the pull of fear in her stomach. Her parents seemed to be crossed between grabbing Lily and running and letting her near the creature. Before they had decided, however, Lily was close enough to read the address written in emerald green.

_L. Evans  
9 Hollis Drive  
Little Whinging  
Surrey_

"It's for me!" she exclaimed, causing the owl to jump slightly. As a result, Lily jumped, too. Suddenly the bird lifted it's wings, hovered for a moment in the air, and dropped the letter right into Lily's grasp. Almost instantly Lily backed away from the bird, staring at the strange letter in her hand.

"Well, who is it from?" Petunia snarled hatefully. Lily ignored her, however, turning the envelope over in her hands to stare at the red wax seal on the back. It was in the shape of a crest with a snake, a lion, eagle and badger around a capital H. Slowly Lily opened the envelope, pulling out what looked to be a piece of parchment, and read aloud:

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**__  
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme  
Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Evans,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts  
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find an enclosed list of  
necessary books and equipment._

Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Your sincerely,  
Rowena Walsh  
Deputy Headmistress

Lily stared at the letter, re-reading it several times before looking up at her parents. "We await your owl? What does that mean?" she asked dumbly, taking out a second piece of parchment. Not knowing what to do next, she began reading the second page.

_First Year Students will require:  
3 sets of plain work robes (black)  
1 plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
1 pair protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
1 winter cloak (black with silver fastenings)_

Course Books:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment:

1 Wand  
1 Cauldron  
1 Telescope  
1 Set glass or crystal phials  
1 Set brass scales

You may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

Puzzled, Lily once more glanced up at the owl, then at the letter, and finally her parents. "This is mad!" she declared, stuffing the parchment back into the envelope. "This has to be some kind of trick, right Mum? Dad?"

Her father was shaking his head, as if indeed, he thought it was a joke. Her mother was not. Petunia's mouth was hanging open in disbelief that mirrored what Lily felt, but she couldn't think about anything but the look on her mother's face. She swallowed hard, putting a shaking hand out towards her mother. "Mum?"

"Daniel... we..." a smile rose to her lips as she stepped back, leaning against the wall. "Lily is... Lily is a witch!" Her eyes closed and for a moment, Lily felt like she might faint. Christine once more opened her eyes, staring at her daughter intently. "We have a witch in the family, at long last!"

With that, Lily promptly fainted.

*****

When Lily awoke, she was laying on the couch. Her vision blurred momentarily as she stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what had happened. An owl, she recalled, had brought her a letter. The letter said she had been accepted at a school for... witches and wizards? No wonder her head hurt, she thought as she sat up, after a nightmare like that! Standing on shaking legs, she wondered towards the kitchen, where she could hear her mother and father arguing. Strange, she thought, my parents usually never fight.

But as she walked into the kitchen, her parents were indeed fighting. Petunia was sitting at the table, watching her mother and father with a look of fascination on her face. Daniel Evans was holding two pieces of old parchment in his hands, waving them frantically in the air as he spoke to his wife. "Chris, you could have told me that your great-grandmother was a... a witch! That there was the slightest chance one of our daughters could be one, too!"

"I'm sorry Daniel!" Christine replied hotly, not at all in her normal soft voice. "We haven't had a witch in the family since! How was I suppose to know that suddenly a letter would come for Lily?"

Lily felt about two inches high, standing in the doorway while her parents fought over her. And the oddest thing, her great-great grandmother was a witch? Then it wasn't a dream! The parchment in her father's hand and the argument taking place was evidence of that. She was a witch? For some reason, the longer the thought spun around in her head, the more sense it made.

She wasn't really a freak, as Petunia had claimed for years. She was a witch. And she had an acceptance letter to go to what sounded like a very nice wizardry school. And maybe, just maybe, she could find friends there. She wouldn't be an outcast, but just like everyone else. The thought brought a slight smile to her face.

"Mum? Dad?" she whispered, coming further in the room. Both her parents stopped dead, turning hazel and green eyes to their youngest. Lily gulped, noting Petunia's sour look out of the corner of her eye. "Do you think it would be ok, I mean to say-if I went to this school?"

Christine smiled brightly, leaving Daniel standing in the middle of the room as she put her arms quickly around her daughter. "Of course you can! Oh, Granny would be so proud to know that you're a witch," she sighed.

Mr. Evans, however, was reading over the letter again. Petunia looked outraged. "Lily," her father began slowly, walking around the table towards his daughter. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Lily nodded her head firmly, her heart beating faster than normal. "Yes Daddy," she replied. "I really want to go. I just know that I could find friends there," she finished, almost wistfully. Any further arguments her father may have had vanished at the sound of Lily's voice. He then added his nod of approval and Lily jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you Daddy!" she squealed, excitement running through every inch of her body.

Petunia stood up, her eyes wider than Lily thought humanly possible. "Oh, of course you'll let her go," she snarled. Her hands were fists at her side. "Anything for perfect Lily, even if she is nothing but a freak! Go on, then!" she shouted over Daniel's cry of outrage. "Go be with the rest of them!" And before anyone could say or do anything, Petunia ran out of the room and up the stairs.

*****

Despite Petunia's sour attitude about it, Lily did indeed send her response back by the owl sitting on the stair case banister. She watched it fly off to the north with a happy smile on her face.

That night Christine invited a friend of her grandmother's over for dinner to discuss Lily's upcoming first year at Hogwarts. Anna, Lily found out, knew all about the wizarding world since her late husband was a wizard. She promised to show the Evans how to get into Diagon Alley, where Lily could buy all the things she needed for school.

That very next weekend, Lily, Daniel and Christine got in the car and headed towards London with Anna. Petunia had stayed at home, refusing to have anything to do with Lily's weirdness, as she had put it. It didn't bother Lily as much as it should have, however, she was far too excited to let her older sister's opinions dwell in her mind.

The four of them walked down a street crowded with people going to and fro. She stopped in front of a ratted looking building that had a wooden sign hanging from a rusted pole that said "The Leaky Cauldron". As they walked in, Lily had the impression that no one else on the street could see the sign, or the building. Pushing that thought aside, she followed the grown ups into what looked like a restaurant for the weird. Inside was full of grown men and woman in what looked suspiciously like robes. A man came at them as soon as they entered and Lily drew back before he bestowed on her a friendly, though nearly toothless, smile. "Hi Anna! Long time no see, whose this ya got with ya?"

Anna smiled back. "Hi Tom. This here is Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and their daughter Lily. She's just been accepted to Hogwarts," she added proudly.

"Ah," Tom said, giving Lily another look over. "Gots the makings of a good witch, she does. Going to the best school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, too. Did you know Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster now, Anna? He'll do good things for that school, he will."

"Albus Dumbledore, eh?" Anna replied. "I recall he was the Transfiguration teacher when Violet's boy graduated. I reckon he'll be as good as Headmaster Dippet, if not better," she added. "I say, Tom, I don't have my husband's wand with me today. Could you let us through so as to buy young Lily's school supplies?"

"Sure thing!" Tom said, turning around to walk to the back of the pub. The four of them followed, Lily looking around interestedly at the people who were sitting around. The came out the back to face a brick wall. Taking out what Lily presumed to be a wand, though it looked like a highly polished piece of wood to her, Tom counted the bricks, then tapped on them.

Before her very astonished eyes, the bricks started moving apart until they revealed an archway. Beyond was a very crowded street, full of men, women and children in robes. Lily's mouth fell open as Anna walked through the passage, then turned to beckon them to follow her. "This is Diagon Alley," she said to Lily, her hand gesturing to the cobble stone street lined with shops. "Everything you'll ever need can be found around here, I'd say. Now, first thing we'll need to do is head to Gringotts, to get you some money."

"We have money," Daniel answered, puzzled.

Anna laughed heartily, her old face even more full of wrinkles when she did so. "No, no, dear boy. You can't buy anything with pounds, here. You'll have to exchange it for Galleons, K'nuts and Sickles - wizarding money." Lily couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

****

After exchanging their money, Anna asked Lily for her supply list. Lily pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Anna, noting how the creases were sharp since she had re-opened it many times in the past week, so that she nearly had the list memorized. Anna consulted the list, handed it back to Lily and said: "Right, then. First place we'll need to go is Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions."

They came to a shop that had different colored robes hanging in the window, and stepped in. There was several students standing on stools in front of mirrors, being measured, and a couple of more looking at the robes hanging on racks. A short, plump witch came over to them as they entered, looking at Lily as if already sizing her without a measure. "Hogwarts?"

Lily nodded and the woman ushered her off to stand on stool to be measured. Next to her a boy was also standing on a stool. When he seen Lily he smiled slightly. "Hello," Lily said, figuring if she was going to make friends, she might as well start now.

The boy was small for his age, so small he looked slightly sick, and had light brown hair that fell over his forehead. His eyes were an odd color, a mix between silver and blue, and there was dark circles under them, but when he smiled, Lily felt relaxed. "Hello," he said back almost shyly.

"You're going to Hogwarts, then?" Lily said as she looked down at the pile of tattered books laying on the floor beside him. On top was a book entitled, "Hogwarts, A History."

His gaze followed hers and he seemed to blush slightly. "Y-Yes, I am. My Mum bought me that book, so I could learn about the school."

"Really?" Lily asked, intrigued. "My parents don't do magic, so I would like to learn about the school. Perhaps I shall buy it."

"It's a very good read," the boy continued, looking more relaxed.

The same witch from earlier came bustling over, measured Lily from head to toe, and everywhere in between, before standing back. "I'll have you done in a quick," she told Lily. Before she walked away, she turned to the boy standing beside Lily. "I'll have yours in just a second, Mr. Lupin," she added before hurrying off.

Lupin was looking in the direction of Lily's parents. "So, you're muggle born?" he asked, and immediately blushed.

Lily, however, gave him a politely puzzled look. "Excuse me?"

Lupin nodded, as if confirming his suspicions. "Muggles are non-magic people," he provided and Lily nodded almost uncertainly. Would that make her different here, as well? Lupin seemed to have read her mind, because he smiled at her. "It's not bad. Most witches and wizards now a days are at least half and half. If we hadn't married muggles, we would have surely died out. You must have had magic in your family history, to be a witch yourself."

Lily felt her heart calm down some as she nodded. "My great-great grand mum was a witch, my Mum said."

"Neat," Lupin replied. Then, as an after thought, he said: "By the way, my name's Remus Lupin. What's yours?"

"Lily Evans," Lily responded immediately, hesitantly reaching out to shake the hand Remus offered. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Remus said, giving her a lopsided smile. "Maybe we'll be in the same house, you think?"

Before Lily could ask what he meant by houses, however, the witch came back and handed Remus a stack of black robes. He picked up his books, his robes under one arm, and started for the door. "See you, Lily!"

"Bye Remus!" Lily called back, waving. If this was any indication, she would have friends at this school. The thought made her smile widely.

****

After purchasing her robes, they went into another shop to buy ink, parchment and brass scales. They then bought her glass phials, and cauldron in The Cauldron Shoppe.

"What's next?" Anna asked and Lily once more pulled out of her list of supplies. "I'll need to get my books, I suppose," Lily replied.

They then set off to Flourish and Blotts to buy all the books she needed. As they walked down the sidewalk, they passed a shop called "Quality Quidditch Supplies". Standing at the window a small group of children were all talking excitedly and pointing to a broom set up in the window. Beside it the sign said "Nimbus One Thousand".

"It's the best racing broom to date!" a small boy was saying as he pressed his face against the glass. "Probably what they'll use in the World Cup, my Dad said!"

They walked on past, Lily still looking backwards at the shop. "Anna," she said as they entered the book shop. "What's Quidditch?"

"It's the wizarding sport, my dear. You'll learn all about it, I wager. It's played on broomsticks is all I know."

"Wow," Lily whispered, taking her first good look inside the shop they had entered. It was huge, about ten times larger than the school library, and books were covering every inch of possible shelf, and even the floor. As they passed, Lily spotted the book that Remus had. "Mum? Can we get this?" she asked, holding the book up for her parents to see. "Remus, the boy I was talking to in the robe shop, said it tells all about Hogwarts!"

"Ok, dear," Christine answered promptly, looking as happy as Lily felt.

"It's a good read," a man said and Lily whipped around to see a tall wizard with a balding head and horn rimmed glasses. "You'll be needing the rest of the Hogwarts books, I presume?"

"Yes sir," Lily answered, following the man to another part of the shop. There he gathered her school books one by one, placing them in her cauldron. "There you go, pay up front."

"Thank you," Anna replied, steering them towards the front of the shop. Lily caught names of books as she passed like _Weezes Wonderful Guide to Household Pests_ and _One Minute Feasts - It's Magic!_

Just before she got to the counter, Lily spotted another book she wanted called _Quidditch Through the Ages_ that she also added to the pile of books at her mother's smile and nod.

"Now, all we have left is your wand," Anna said as they exited the book shop, her voice pumping with the same excitement Lily felt. The came to the front of an old store, probably the oldest on the street, by the looks of it that had large peeling letters that read _Ollivanders - Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._

Lily pushed the door open hesitantly, peering inside before she actually stepped foot in. She had a strange sensation when she opened the door, almost as if there was magic lingering in the dusty air. There was a young boy standing at the counter paying for a wand the shop keeper was placing in a box. "That'll be eight galleons." The boy paid him quickly just as the door behind them jingled and another boy came in.

The boy at the counter took his belongings and left, giving Lily a rather haulty look as he passed. Before Lily could try to think about why the stranger had looked so mean, the boy that had came in the door behind them came up to her side, smiling slightly. "Don't worry about it," he said, as if he could read her mind. "Ole' Snape ain't nice to no one, don't take it personally."

Lily nodded, smiling slightly in response. The boy standing next to her was tall, taller than most eleven year olds, but skinny. He had messy black hair that sticking up and round glasses that he kept pushing up his nose. His brown eyes were friendly, though, when he smiled at her. Before she could reply, however, the man behind the counter came around, smiling at them both.

"Mr. James Potter, I wondered when you'd make your way in here," he greeted. His silver gray eyes then turned to Lily and he seemed to be sizing her up. "What would your name be, my dear?"

"Lily Evans," Lily replied firmly, hoping that James couldn't see the fright she felt suddenly. What if she couldn't get a wand? Anna had told her that the wand picks the witch, not the other way around. What if one didn't want to belong to her? What if she wasn't really a witch, but a freak like Petunia said?

"Evans, hmm," Mr. Ollivander said, thinking. "Rona Lambert?" he asked of her parents.

Christine Evans nodded. "She's Lily's great-great grandmother."

"Ah, of course," he said, turning back to Lily. " Willow and Phoenix Feather, Nine Inches."

Lily and James both gave him a quizzing look. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter - Miss Evans. No two Ollivander Wands are alike, and as such you'll not find a better wand anywhere else." He said this proudly as he walked away, pulling out a long tape measure. "Which is your wand hand?" he asked Lily, who had no idea what he meant.

"It's the hand you write with," James supplied, his eyes twinkling with laughter. Lily felt herself blush as she held up her right hand.

Mr. Ollivander measured her arm from shoulder to finger, from elbow to wrist, from wrist to finger tips, and then measured her forehead, the distance from her nose to the tip of her finger and then her mouth as James laughed beside her. Then he walked over to the shelf and pulled out a thin black box from the shelf that homed thousands of the same. "Here, Miss Evans, try this one. Willow and Dragon heart String, nine and half inches."

Lily took the wand gingerly, holding it as if she were afraid it would break. Mr. Ollivander looked impatient. "Give it a wave, then," he said and Lily jumped slightly before waving the wand. Nothing happened.

"Hmmm," Mr. Ollivander said, taking the wand and placing it back in the box. He again went to the shelf and pulled another box out. "Try this," he said, handing her another wand. "Unicorn hair and willow, ten and a quarter inches, swishy. Great for charms work."

Lily took the wand and instantly a warm sensation shot up her arm. As she watched, a shower of blue sparks shot out the end. Expectantly she looked up at Mr. Ollivander. "That would be a match," he confirmed, smiling toothlessly at her. Lily's heart jumped in her chest.

Instead of ringing her up right away, Mr. Ollivander began pulling out wands for James. After about four tries, they found a wand that made James yelp from the heat in his hand. "Mahogany, phoenix feather, eleven inches. Excellent for Transfiguration."

They paid for their wands and exited the shop. James walked alongside Lily, examining her wand before handing it back to her. "Nice, eh? I can't wait to learn spells."

"Me, neither," Lily admitted.

"Oy! Potter! It's about time I found you!" another boy yelled, running through the crowds of witches and wizards towards the two. He was as tall as James, but his black hair was calmer and brushed back. He had a quirky grin and his blue eyes had a way of looking at you that made it seem he could see your thoughts. When he caught up, he gave James a wolfish grin as he eyes Lily. "So that's what's held you up, eh?"

James flushed red. "No," he said quickly. "I was getting my wand."

"Already got mine," the boy stated proudly. "Dragon heart string and Mahoney, eleven and a half inches. Swishy, yet very powerful. Hey, we're suppose to meet Peter up at the ice cream shop, come on!"

James started ahead, leaving Lily to watch his retreating back when suddenly he grabbed the other boys shirt to stop him, and turned around. "Hey Lily, you wanna come?" he called.

Lily looked up expectantly at her parents, silently pleading with her eyes. It would be the first time she ever went anywhere with kids her own age, even if it was only around the corner. Daniel didn't look convinced, but Christine and Anna were both already nodding their heads. Daniel, giving up, handed Lily a handful of money. "Go on, then. We'll be at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Thank you!" Lily called behind her, already running to catch up with James. She stopped just beside him, trying to catch her breath. "Thanks for inviting me," she said shyly, suddenly not knowing what to say.

"Sure," James replied, shrugging.

The boy on the other side of James reached his hand out to shake Lily's, giving James a sideways glance. "Since James here won't introduce you, my name is Sirius Black. Didn't pick the name, by the way."

Lily laughed slightly, feeling herself relax as she kept in step with the two other boys. "Lily Evans, and I don't think your name is so bad."

"Try living with it," Sirius quipped, but laughed all the same. They walked into an ice cream parlor and took seat with a small cubby boy with thin blonde hair and small eyes. He looked uncomfortable sitting by himself until James and Sirius came up to the table. He smiled quickly, throwing a questioning glance at Lily and then Sirius.

"This is Lily Evans," Sirius introduced as Lily shook Peter's hand. "James picked her up at the wand shop. ("Did not!" James retorted, blushing.) Lily, this is Peter Pettigrew."

"Nice to meet you," both said at the same time, then laughed.

Lily sat down at the table between James and Peter, looking around the shop with interest. A young witch came over to take their order and returned a few minutes later with a tray full of strawberry and mint ice cream. Lily dug happily into hers, listening to the boys talk about Quidditch, the Nimbus One Thousand and which house they wanted to be sorted into. Lily barely spoke, as she knew nothing of any subject they had talked of, but she listened carefully. So far she had learned that all three of them hoped to be in Gryffindor, Slytherin had put out more dark wizards than any other house, the Chuddley Cannons were in the top of the league and the Nimbus One Thousand was a favorite for the World Cup.

"Do you like Quidditch, Lily?" Peter asked when he realized that the red headed girl had done nothing more than listen attentively as they spoke.

Lily felt a blush stain her cheeks. "I-I don't know, I don't know what it is."

All three boys, as well as a group of kids at a near-by table stopped to stare at her. She felt like sliding down in the chair and trying to disappear, though she knew from past experiences it would do no good. Tears built up behind her eyes that she struggled to keep down. Without warning she stood up, shoved her chair back and ran out of the shop, nearly knocking down a witch at the door. Tears burned behind her eyes as she ran down the sidewalk, past three other stores, before coming to a slow trot, then stopping all together. It was just as she feared, she wouldn't belong here, either.

Just behind her she could hear James calling her name, but she ignored him and started walking again. Easily he caught up to her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. "Lily, what-oh," he said when he seen the tears falling from her piercing green eyes. "Hey, Lil, don't cry," he said softly, looking awkward, but wanting to help. Lily barely had time to register what he was doing when Sirius, followed by an out of breath Peter, also caught up.

"You're muggle born, then?" James asked softly, giving Sirius a knowing look.

Lily nodded, brushing away her tears. "I'm sorry. I don't really belong here, I suppose. I just-"

"Hey now!" Sirius suddenly said, draping an arm over Lily's shoulders and squeezing nearly too tight. "No one said you don't belong."

"Right!" Peter piped up, smiling at Lily.

"We'll explain everything to you, Lily, don't worry," James assured her, grinning.

Lily took a deep breath, giving the three a questioning glance. "Really?"

"Of course," Sirius said as the three started walking again. He still hadn't taken his arm off her shoulders. "What do you want to know about?"

Lily turned over all they had said in her mind while looking around. Her eyes fell on a shop window with a huge sign advertising Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. "Wh-What's that?"

James, Sirius and Peter all burst into laughter until Lily also couldn't help it, and began laughing as well. They went into the shop, Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, and Lily found out that the fireworks were just as they said: fireworks. Only, unlike Muggle fireworks, these went off for about half and hour and weren't as dangerous as the fireworks Muggles had.

After Sirius and James explained about most of the jokes in the shop, they left and went next door to the candy shop. Lily picked up a colorful box that read "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" and raised an eyebrow. "Every flavor?"

"They mean it, too," James said, glancing over from where he was getting a bag of sugar quills. "There's good flavors, like peanut butter and chocolate - but then there's also dirt, plastic, even dragon dug!"

"I got a ear waxed flavor one, once," Sirius said, noticing what they were talking about.

Lily made a face of disgust, but still put the box in her shopping basket. In fact, she bought at least one of every candy in the shop. Just as they were about to leave, they came upon a display of Chocolate Frogs. There was one in a glass jar at the top, jumping around. "Are they real?" Lily asked in awe.

"No, it's just a spell," Peter said, putting six of them in his basket. "They have collectable wizard cards in the bottom, I have five hundred and two, myself."

"Neat," Lily said, grabbing a handful to put in her basket as well.

The next shop they stopped in was Eeylops Owl Emporium. It was a rather small shop full of animal cages that smelled strongly of animal droppings. They had every owl you could think of, from the small to the large, as well as phoenixes, cats, bats, rats, toads, spiders and the like. James bought a snowy owl and cage. Lily, deciding she also wanted a pet, bought a small reddish brown minute owl that hooted happily when she picked it. Carrying almost more than they could carry, the four stepped back outside into the fading sunlight.

Lily stared at the sun dropping behind the building and felt her stomach drop. Surely her parents would be waiting for her, and she didn't want to make them angry. But she also didn't want to leave her new friends. The former was nagging at her mind, though, as they walked down the path.

"Hey! Let's go in the Quidditch shop!" said James suddenly, nodding his head towards the large shop in front of them.

"Oh, guys, I'm sorry," Lily began, and she was very sorry, too. "But I have to meet my parents."

"Oh," Sirius said, looking as disappointed as Lily felt. Suddenly he brightened. "Hey, we'll see you on the Hogwarts Express, though."

"Yup!" Lily said, walking away from the first three friends she's ever had in her life. "See you on September 1!"

"Bye Lil!" James said as Sirius and Peter waved.

Her heart lighter than she ever thought possible, Lily made her way back to the Leady Cauldron to meet up with her parents. For once, she was looking forward to the start of school.

**Please Review**


	3. Lily Evans Part 3

**Chapter 2**

**This chapter belongs to Bethany1**

Lily Evans shut the book she was currently reading (_Quidditch Through the Ages_) and looked expectantly up at the clock on her bed stand. It was eight forty-five, which meant that she still had another hour and thirty minutes to kill before they left for King's Cross Station. Time had a funny way of slowing down when you were anticipating something, she mused. Putting her current read back in her trunk, she got up and crossed the room to where her pet owl sat watching her from it's cage. "Not too much longer now," she told the owl, opening it's cage and allowing it to come out to sit on the window edge. "You need a name, don't you?" she sighed, again running a list of names through her head. The owl gave a short hoot, as if to agree with her.

"Well, I'd feel funny giving you a name that so obviously Muggle,(another hoot of agreement) but I don't know much about wizard names yet." Lily pulled out her book _Hogwarts, A History_, and skimmed it for names.

"Lily! Petunia! Breakfast!" her mother called up the stairs.

Lily shut the book, placing it back in the trunk. "You'd better go stretch your wings now, we'll be leaving shortly and you'll be in your cage the rest of the day. But do make sure you come back before we leave, ok?" The owl had stared at her as she spoke, as if understanding every word she said. Lily grinned as it hooted once more before soaring off into the morning sky.

"Girls! Hurry up!"

"Coming Mum!" Lily called, shutting her trunk closed and hurrying out of her room just in time to knock into her older sister, Petunia. "Oh, sorry Petunia," she apologized at once.

Petunia looked at her as if she were a small speck of dirt, and everyone in the house knew that Petunia despised dirt more than anything in the world. Lily was soon to find out, though, there was one thing she disliked more. "Lily, can I talk with you a minute?" Petunia asked in a would be nice voice, and might have pulled it off if she didn't look ready to kill someone.

"Er, sure," Lily replied hesitantly, following her sister into her room.

Petunia closed her bedroom door behind Lily, waving her hand to offer her a seat. Lily sat nervously, glancing up at Petunia and nothing else. Petunia paced for a moment before Lily, glancing at her now and again before beginning. "Lily, I may never have told you this, but I've always thought you were a smart girl." Lily looked at her incredibly. "No, I mean it. And a smart girl like you can do something, well, smart with your life." She turned here, and Lily finally caught her real meaning behind this 'sisterly talk'. "This whole becoming a witch thing, Lily, it's just not smart. You'll go off and learn a couple of magic tricks, and then when it's over with, you'll have to come back and catch up on all your school work so that you can make something of yourself."

"Petunia, I am going to make something of myself," Lily began softly, in a some-what pleading voice. Above everything Petunia had ever done to her, Lily had some fleeting dream they could still be sisters. "I'm going to become a witch."

From the look on Petunia's face, that fleeting dream just flew out the window. Petunia's dropped her sisterly facade and turned mean, sharp eyes on Lily. "Lily Evans, if you step out of the house today and go to that... that place! You will not be my sister anymore! I mean it!"

With tears in her eyes, Lily stood up to her full four feet three inches. "Petunia, you don't mean that! You can't stop being my sister because of what I am!"

"Yes, I can!" Petunia roared and turned on her heel, swung the door open and pointed out it. "Get out of my sight, freak."

Lily stomped past her defiantly, her chin held high. But once that white door shut in her face, tears spilled down her face. Lily started to turn, knock on it and agree until she remembered everything in her room. And above all, she remembered James, Sirius and Peter. Turning, she brushed the tears from her face and went down the stairs.

At a quarter past ten, Daniel, Christine and Lily packed everything up in the car and headed towards King's Cross Station. They arrived shortly after and Mr. Evans went to fetch a cart to put all of Lily's things on. They entered the station and Lily looked around.

"Well, what platform do we need to be at?" Daniel asked.

"Er," Lily pulled the ticket out of her purse, puzzled. She had stared at this ticket every day since she had received it, but still it made no sense. Silently, she handed it to her father.

"Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" he asked incredibly, looking at Lily like she might understand it better than him.

"Nonsense, there's no such thing," Christine said, taking the ticket from her husband, and then wearing an equally shocked expression upon finding out that, indeed, it did say that. "Now what?"

Lily looked around at the people rushing everywhere, but none looked familiar to her as being a witch or wizard as opposed to a Muggle. "Do you think it's like the Leady Cauldron? It appears only for witches or wizards?"

Her father nodded absentmindedly and, without anything else to do, they started towards Platform Nine. When they arrived, no Platform appeared out of thin air. Lily sighed, frustrated, when suddenly she heard a familiar voice ring out through the crowd. "Lily! There she is, James!"

Running through the crowd was James, Sirius and lastly Peter. Lily felt a smile break out on her face. James caught up to her first, breathing hard. "When you weren't on the train, we figured you couldn't find the platform," James huffed out, putting his hand on Sirius while he caught his breath.

"We've only got five minutes, let's go," Sirius said, pushing James' hand off his shoulder, nearly causing him to fall. "When they say the train leaves at eleven o'clock, they mean it."

"But, where is the train?" Lily asked, looking back and forth between the two taller boys.

"Right through there!" Peter announced, pointing at the brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Just run at the wall," James said.

"You'll run through it to the Platform," Sirius continued.

"But don't be scared, or you'll crash!" Peter ended, his eyes wide.

Lily's face lost some of it's color. James grabbed her cart, putting his hand over hers. "Come on, I'll go with you. Sirius, you and Peter help Mr. and Mrs. Evans."

James looked at Lily, who, while still pale, nodded her head firmly. They began walking at the wall briskly, Lily repeating over and over in her head _I'm not going to crash, I'm not going to crash_.

And she didn't.

Suddenly they were standing on a platform next to a bright red train that read _Hogwarts Express_. Wizards and witches were standing here and there in groups, and children were running every which direction with luggage, owls and other pets. Lily's face broke into a grin.

"Oh dear," Christine Evans said as her, Daniel, Sirius and Peter came through the barrier.

"Isn't it great?" Lily laughed as the train whistle blew.

"Sirius Black!"

Sirius' head ducked as a woman with waist length black hair came bustling towards them. "Young man, I just knew you were going to miss the train! And dragging James and Peter with you!"

"But Mum-" Sirius began.

"No buts young man!"

"Mrs. Black, you see, we had to find Lily. She didn't know how to get on the platform!" James insisted, looking like he was the one Mrs. Black's rage was centered on.

The woman's nearly black eyes turned towards Lily, then her parents and softened some. The whistle blew again. "All aboard!"

Sirius pecked his mom on the cheek, followed by James and lastly Peter, grabbed Lily's luggage and started on the train. "See you next summer, Mum!" Sirius called, Peter and James waving also. "Come on Lily!"

Lily turned, hugging both her parents tightly. The train started to pull away. Lily ran to catch up as James held the door open for her. "I love you!" Lily called, waving frantically at her parents. They both waved until she was out of sight.

Lily followed James, Sirius and Peter to a compartment near the back where they stored her luggage on the racks next to their own. Lily watched out the window silently as the train left the station, heading north through the countryside.

"How long does it take to get to Hogwarts?" Peter asked, breaking the silence.

"Mum said about eight hours," Sirius replied, also looking out the window. "You ok, Lil?"

Lily nodded, tearing her eyes away from the window, and thus her thoughts about Petunia. She was doing it, she was going to become a witch. And the friends she had now would take the place of the sister she never had, and now never would. She smiled sadly. "It's the first time I've been away from my Mum and Dad."

Peter nodded understandingly.

"Er, excuse me?" a new voice said. All four of them whipped their heads around to see a boy standing in the doorway, dragging his trunk behind him. "I'm sorry, but everywhere else is full, do you think I could...?"

Lily, who instantly recognized him as Remus Lupin, nodded her head. "Sure Remus," she smiled, moving to help him put his luggage up on the racks. "This is Remus Lupin," Lily said, pointing to the boy while speaking to the others. "This is James Potter, Sirius Black ("Didn't pick the name.") and Peter Pettigrew," Lily introduced, giggling at Sirius and his insistence about his name.

"Nice to meet you," Remus said shyly, sitting next to Lily and looking uncertain.

As they sat, Lily noticed that Remus looked slightly better than he did last time she seen him. The dark circles under his eyes were nearly gone and there was more color in his complexion.

"Did you get that book, Lily?" Remus asked quietly to break the silence.

Lily nodded. "Yes, and _Quidditch Through Ages_. The game sounds fascinating."

That, Lily found out, was a subject everyone had an opinion about. They talked about everything Quidditch, to the latest broom sticks, and then started on what houses they wanted to be sorted in.

At one o'clock a plump witch with a friendly smile came through the hall, pushing a cart full of all the candy that Lily had seen in Diagon Alley. They each bought something different and then began swapping out. Lily opened a box of _Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans_ with a wicked smile.

"You're too brave for my taste," Peter said instantly, eyeing the box with disgust. "I got a toe nail flavored one last time I tried."

"Oh, come on!" Lily insisted, handing a brightly colored bean to all four boys. "We'll all give it a go at once."

Sirius, looking determined, nodded his head. "On the count of three, then?" Everyone nodded and held their bean before them. "One.. Two.. Three.."

Everyone threw the bean into their mouth and began chewing. Within a second, Peter, Sirius and Remus had spit theirs back out. Lily giggled, swallowing. "Well?"

"Salt," Sirius said, taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

"Baking soda," Peter spat.

"Cement," Remus added, taking a bite of a chocolate frog.

Lily and James began laughing at the looks on their faces. "What about you two?" Sirius asked while swishing the pumpkin juice around in his mouth.

"Apple Juice," Lily grinned.

"Banana."

"Beginner's luck," Remus warned. "You wait until you start eating them and bite into a frog leg flavored one. Yuck!"

Soon enough they were all full of Cauldron Cakes, Acid Pops, Fizzing Whizzbees, Bertie Bott's Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Juice. The train drifted along the country side for hours as the five friends talked of everything from Quidditch to Hogwarts. "According to _Hogwarts, A History_, the ceiling in the Great Hall is enchanted to look like the sky outside!" Lily said dreamily, trying to imagine it in her head.

"And there's secret passages everywhere," Sirius added, giving a knowing look to James.

"You can't start the year off getting into trouble," Lily warned. Peter looked scared at the prospect of secret passages.

"You're only in trouble if you get caught," Sirius said pointedly.

"And we've got a secret weapon," James added.

Lily shook her head dejectedly.

A little while later a tall, handsome boy with dark hair and dark eyes came to the door of the compartment. On his shoulder a silver gleaming badge that said "Prefect" caught Lily's eye. "You should change into robes," he said in a voice full of authority. "We'll be arriving soon."

All five of them nodded and began putting the rest of their candy away in their trunks. Lily took her robes and left to find a compartment to change in. When she returned, all four sat in matching black robes. The only difference in their outfits and hers was that Lily wore a skirt and knee high socks. She took her seat and watched out the window for any sign of the village of Hogsmead, where the train would pull in.

About ten minutes later the train slowed down before coming to a halt in the Hogsmead Station. A voice over the intercom informed them to leave their luggage on the train and proceed to the platform. Lily once more felt fear grip her stomach as she stepped off the train, looking around at all the students that were also standing around.

"This way! F'rst years o'er here!" a booming voice called.

Peter started towards the voice first, following other first years. Suddenly he came to a stop. Sadly the others were following so close behind that Sirius knocked into him, James colliding into Sirius, Remus tripping over James and Lily, not noticing the chain reaction, fell right into Remus' arms. "Watch it!" the voice called as the five tried to unwind themselves. Around them the other kids were laughing nervously.

"Peter, what you do that for?" Sirius hissed.

The small boy, instead of answering, pointed a shaking finger in front of them. The booming voice was coming from none other than a giant man. He was at least ten feet tall with solid black hair that grew in even more odd directions than James'. His beard was long and tangly and so full you could barely make out his eyes under it all.

The giant came over rather quickly, taking about three strides per foot fall. Remus pushed Lily up to her feet just as the giant picked him up by the back of the neck and sat him on his feet. He did the same for Sirius, James and finally Peter, who quickly dodged behind Sirius once he was back on his feet. "A'right there?"

All five of them nodded silently.

The giant smiled, or at least they thought he did, and held up his lantern to make his way up to the front of the group again. "A'right, first years, follow me!"

Lily was still shaking. When the giant had came over to them, the top of her head had barely reached the top of his leg. Giving a nervous look around, she bounded up between Sirius and James, grabbing onto James' hand and squeezing tightly. He looked over at her quizzingly, but when he seen how shook up she was, he said nothing.

The giant lead them to a group of boats sitting on the lake. Beyond the lake they could see the outline of a massive castle sitting against the dark sky. There was torches rising up out of the middle of each boat. The kids looked around nervously.

"No more than four to a boat!" the giant instructed.

Lily squeezed James' hand tighter. "But.. in _Hogwarts, A History_, it said there was a giant squid in the lake!" she whispered urgently, looking around at the quiet, still water.

"They wouldn't put us in danger, Lily," James told her.

Still unsure, Lily boarded the boat with James, Sirius and another girl they hadn't met before. When all of the students had boarded, the boats suddenly began moving by themselves. Lily, frightened at first, began to look around at the castle and surrounding land in awe. "That must be the Forbidden Forest!" she squealed, pointing off towards a large patch of trees. "It's said that there is werewolves, unicorns and all sorts of things living in there."

"We'll learn about them in Care of Magical Creatures next year, I'd wager," said the girl none of them knew. When all heads turned towards her, she grinned. "My name is Rachel Bones. What's yours?"

"Lily Evans," Lily said, reaching out to shake her hand.

"James Potter."

"Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel said, looking up towards the castle again. They were drifting into a large cave where they could see a very stern looking witch standing by a staircase waiting on them. "Well, here goes nothing. Good luck in the sorting," she said as she stepped out of the boat.

James, Sirius and Lily got out of the boat and stayed back to wait for Peter and Remus. Together the five climbed the stairs after the other first years, passing the giant who was waving and saying "Good luck!" as they passed.

They climbed three sets of stairs, coming to a stop at the top of the third. "Can I have your attention please?" the witch at the top said, causing everyone to quiet down. "Thank you. My name is Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. In just a few moments you will pass through these doors and enter the Great Hall were you will be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

"The house you are sorted into will become your home for the next seven years. The students; your family. Your accomplishments will win your house points, any rule breaking will loose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a very high honor. Now, I will leave you for just a moment, when I return, we will enter."

As she walked away, Lily once more felt like she had swallowed lead. The crowd of students around them began to talk in excited whispers, telling each other the house they hope to be in. Lily wasn't sure which house she wanted, but hoped that she remained with James, Sirius, Peter and Remus.

Suddenly someone in the back gasped loudly, causing everyone to turn around. About ten feet away was a ghost floating in mid air. He wore a rather old outfit with ruffles around the sleeves, and neck. He grinned broadly at the students. "Hello everyone!" he called. "How are you?"

There was a mummer of "fine" from a couple of students, but otherwise nothing. The ghost didn't seem upset by it. On the contrary, he laughed heartily. "Don't fret! I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsey-Porpington, Gryffindor ghost!"

"Sir Nicholas..." Rachel Bones said incredibly, a look of realization dawning on her face. "Nearly Headless Nick?"

This time the ghost did look upset. "Er, yes, but I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind."

Despite herself, curiosity took over Lily's mind and she spoke. "Nearly Headless? But how?" Sirius poked Lily in the shoulder, but she ignored him, looking expectantly at the ghost.

Sir Nicholas flew over to float before Lily, who now thought to stand back, once more grabbing James' hand. "Like this," he said and Lily suddenly gasped, as well as the surrounding students, when he pulled his head to the side, revealing his colorless spine and insides. His head was barely being held on by a couple of inches of skin on the left side. He popped his head back up.

"Ugh," Lily whispered as he turned back around.

"We're ready for you!" Professor McGonagall said from the open doorway.

The students proceeded through the doorway in sets, looking around at the Great Hall. They were walking through four large tables that seated the older students. At the front was a long table that Lily presumed to be the staff table, where the only adults in the room were sitting, save Professor McGonagall, who was pulling out a long piece of parchment.

Lily craned her neck to see stare at the ceiling, which indeed mimicked the sky outside. Bright stars twinkled back, visible through a sea of lit candles floating in air.

On a stool in front of the staff table was a rather large, and really old wizard hat. As they stared, the brim opened up and began to sing:

_Many years ago four wizards with  
powers greatly told, came together to  
build a school where the youngest witches  
and wizards could go._

Godric Gryffindor, brave, strong and true,  
wanted his house to be full of young ones  
that had his same values.

If you're not afraid to work hard at every  
thing you do, then you'll be sorted into  
Ravenclaw, because Rowena was like that, too.

The ones who value faithfulness above all  
of the rest, will surely rest in Hufflepuff,  
Helga said to me.

And last, but not least, those who are  
sly and cunning, will have a place here, too.  
Salazar Slytherin's house you'll go if  
ambitiousness is for you.

But who to deem each student worthy after  
their time was through? A sorting hat,  
they declared, will carry on our dues!

So get up now, don't be shy. I'll find the  
best place for you. Put me on your head and  
I'll see which house you ought to be sorted  
into!

The hat bowed and the student body broke out into applause. Lily, clapping, snickered to herself. She was about to put a singing hat, that couldn't rhyme all that well, on her head. She wondered what it would see in her.

"Now, when I call your name, you will come to the front, sit on the stool, and place the sorting hat on your head," Professor McGonagall said, looking down the bridge of he nose at the parchment. "Adams, Crystal!"

A cubby girl walked nervously up the step to the sorting hat, sat down and placed it on her head. The whole room was quiet until suddenly the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

The table to their left burst into applause. Smiling, the girl ran over to sit at the table with the rest of the Ravenclaws.

"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall cried.

James slapped Sirius on the back, wishing him good luck as he took off towards the front. Bravely he took the hat, sat down and placed it on his head. Almost instantly it cried "GRYFFINDOR!"

The far left table burst into applause as Sirius hurried to join them, smiling broadly.

"Bones, Rachel!"

Lily squeezed her eyes closed nervously as James and Peter chatted behind her. When she reopened her eyes, she noted that Peter looked nearly white, as did Remus. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat roared.

Another burst of applause, now from the table to their right.

"Brown, Nick!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily watched as the table to the far left stood once more and cheered as Nick Brown joined them.

"Cannon, Michael!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Dobbs, Celeste!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

On and on it went as three more students went to Ravenclaw, three more to Hufflepuff, two to Slytherin (who really looked as if they belonged there by the sneers on their face) and three to Gryffindor.

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily felt fear nail her to the floor. James gave her a small push and Lily found her feet guiding her towards the front of the Great Hall. There was a pleasant looking man sitting in the middle of the staff table that Lily guessed to be Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster. He had a gray beard that was so long it disappeared under the table, and half moon glasses half way down the bridge of his nose. He smiled her way as she took the hat in her hands, sat on the stool and placed it on her head.

For a second nothing happened, and then suddenly she could hear a voice inside the hat. Or was it inside her head? "Hmmm... brave," it said. "And smart, loyal, a longing for friends. Hufflepuff? No, no, you also like adventure, trying new things. I know... GRYFFINDOR!" The last part was screamed out to the hall and Lily grinned broadly.

She took the hat off and nearly ran to join the table at the end that had burst into applause as she got up. A few slapped her on the back as she went, congratulating her.

Lily sat down next to Sirius, still grinning, and looked up at the table just as "Jones, Tim!" became a Ravenclaw.

"Oh, I'm so glad I got in the same house as someone I know!" Lily said excitedly to Sirius, applauding as "Johnson, Mark!" became another Gryffindor.

Four more went to Hufflepuff and five to Slytherin when Professor McGonagall called, "Lupin, Remus!"

For some reason, Lily noted, Professor Dumbledore looked more interested to see where Remus ended up at. He leaned forward slightly as Remus put the hat on his head and waited, swinging his feet nervously. Suddenly the mouth of the hat opened and yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius and Lily stood up, clapping and whistling as Remus came over to join them. He looked breathless, but happy, as he sat down on Lily's other side. Lily grinned from ear to ear, applauding politely as "Mann, Olivia!" became a Ravenclaw.

"Oh, I do hope James and Peter get Gryffindor, too!" Lily said as she watched another student be placed in Slytherin. For some reason when she mentioned Peter, Sirius looked worried.

It seemed they didn't have long to wait to find out, for next "Pettigrew, Peter!" was called up. Peter nearly tripped as he went up and picked the hat up. His face was as white as Nearly Headless Nick's, and his eyes wide. He shoved the hat over his head, his hands shaking.

For a long minute nothing happened. Lily looked at Remus, who looked just as confused as she was, and then to Sirius who was mumbling something under his breath. Finally the hat's brim opened and yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius, Remus and Lily shot up, applauding as Peter stumbled towards them, looking relived. Lily patted him on the back as he sat next to Remus.

"Potter, James!"

Lily's attention was fixed on James as he walked coolly up to the stool, took the hat, sat down and put it on his head. Almost immediately it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily's hands were numb from clapping, but she didn't care. She also feared loosing the hearing in her left ear because Sirius was whistling so loudly in it. James ran over to the table, sitting on Sirius' other side, grinning.

They hardly took notice as two more students were sorted into Ravenclaw, another four into Hufflepuff and a whomping six in Slytherin, including "Snape, Severus!"

"Expected nothing less from a git like that," Sirius mumbled to James just loud enough for Lily to hear.

"Turpin, Lee!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Valentine, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Finally, after two more were sorted into Gryffindor, three more into Ravenclaw, two more into Hufflepuff and one more into Slytherin, the sorting was over.

Professor McGonagall took the sorting hat and stool away as the Headmaster stood up, beaming around at all the tables. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I know you are all hungry, so we will eat before I make this years announcements. As such, I have only four words for you all; Cackle, Pimpet, Lattle, Rattle!"

Lily had barely time to think what an odd assortment of words that was when suddenly a huge feast appeared on the table. Every food one could think of (as well as some Lily had no idea what they were) lined all four tables. Lily, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter began piling food on their plates, talking excitedly.

"I can't believe we all got Gryffindor!" Lily said as she put a spoon of mashed potatoes on her plate.

"No kidding!" James replied, also filling his plate.

Peter nodded his head as he took a huge bite off a chicken leg and chewed.

The Head Girl for Gryffindor, a seventh year, Molly Edwards, was sited across from Lily. She was a plump girl, though not terribly heavy, with deep red hair and freckles covering her nose. Next to her was a fifth year, Frank Longbottom.

Lily looked around at the staff table as she ate, noting there was a ghost sitting at the end, looking rather sour. Raising an eye brow, Lily swallowed. "Hey Molly, who is that ghost sitting at the staff table?"

James stopped his conversation with Mundungus Fletcher, a third year, to listen as well.

"Oh, that's Professor Binns, History of Magic. He's our only ghost teacher. I heard that he fell asleep in the teacher's lounge, got up the next morning and went to teach class, never realizing he died!" Molly said matter of factly.

"Did you know they planted a Whomping Willow this year?" Fletcher said, catching the attention of Molly and Frank.

"I bet Sprout loved that," Frank commented, taking a drink of pumpkin juice.

"Who's Sprout?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Professor Sprout, Herbology," Fletcher supplied, pointing to a plump witch at the staff table. "She's also head of Hufflepuff. Next to her is Professor Flitwick, Charm's Teacher. He's head of Ravenclaw. He's so short that he has to stand on a pile of books just to see his students. Madam Hooch, she's the Flying teacher, and Professor Ricochet is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"To his left is Professor Walsh, the Potions teacher. She's a mean one, watch out for her. She's also head of Slytherin house. Sitting on Professor Dumbledore's other side is Professor McGonagall, she's the new transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor this year since Dumbledore went to Headmaster and the other teacher was killed."

"Killed!" Lily gasped, taking a second, longer look at the stern witch that had done the sorting. "How'd it happen?"

"It was You-Know-Who," Molly said darkly, putting her fork down.

"Actually, I don't know," Lily replied, giving a confused glance around.

"His name is Voldemort," Sirius said, James nodding beside him. "And should be called by his name." Half the table suppressed shutters.

"He's a Dark Wizard, a very strong one at that," James continued when Lily looked no more informed than before. "He started gaining power about last year, got a bunch of followers that call themselves Death Eaters," he said quietly.

"Can't someone stop him?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.

"Many have tried, but all have failed. He's killed anyone who tries, their families, too," Molly said, looking scared. "Arthur joined the Ministry, and he said that it's not looking good."

"Who's Arthur?" Remus asked.

"Arthur Weasley, he graduated last year," Fletcher said. "Molly and him are engaged, aren't you?" he asked Molly, who's face turned as red as her hair.

Lily smiled, taking a bite of chicken. Her stomach quivered at the talk of this Dark Lord. How many wizards had went bad?

****

When they had all finished with their dinner, the plates magically cleaned themselves, replaced by every kind of desert Lily could think of. They all ate until they couldn't eat another bite.

When everyone had finished, the plates suddenly cleaned themselves again, sparkling like they had when they had first sat down. Again Albus Dumbledore got to his feet, blue eyes sparkling.

"For those of you who know the rules and so forth, I ask that you be patient while I review some things for our new students and then add some notices for our returning ones.

"The Forbidden Forest at the edge of our property is just as the name suggests: forbidden. I ask new students to be sure to stay clear of that area, as well as remind some old ones of that rule." Here he glanced towards the Gryffindor table and Lily heard Fletcher clear his throat. "Our caretaker, Mr. Adams, has asked me to remind you that no magic should be performed in the corridors between classes. Anyone who would like to play Quidditch this year should contact Madam Hooch, as usual.

"Now, this year we have something new. A Whomping willow has been planted on our grounds. I ask that you do not attempt to go near it, unless you wish to loose several limbs." He smiled lively around, though Lily could hear a couple of students gulp. "Let's have a good year, shall we?" With that he sat back down, cueing the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl to escort their houses to the dormitories.

"Follow me, please!" Molly called to the first years, motioning them out into the hall. They walked along side the Hufflepuffs down a couple of halls until they came to a room full of stairs. Lily stared up, but couldn't see the ceiling, although some of the cases were moving. "Gryffindors this way!"

"Hufflepuffs this way!" called a boy Lily recognized from the train. She heard someone say his name was Amos Diggory.

They followed Molly up three sets of stairs to the left as the Hufflepuffs went off the to right. Lily stared around as they passed moving paintings, some waving and others sleeping. They turned a corner and a loud, squally voice seemed to vibrate off the walls. "Look! It's inkle winkle first years!"

Molly stopped dead, causing some of the students behind her to knock into one another. Floating in the air before them was a short little man with wild hair. He zoomed upside down for a moment, sticking his tongue out. Molly pulled her wand out, looking threateningly at the creature. "Peeves, please move out of our way."

"Hmmm, no!" Peeves shouted, spraying Molly with a wet raspberry. "Can't make me, no!" he laughed shrilly.

"What is that?" Lily whispered to the girl standing beside her, trying not to draw any attention to herself.

"It's Peeves the Poltergeist, he is always causing trouble some- where," she whispered back.

"Peeves, I'll tell the Bloody Baron, I will!" Molly shouted, looking angry.

Peeves seemed to rethink his situation for a second. "No fun, ole' Molly Golly Lolly. No fun at all!" he sang, bouncing off the ceiling and walls as he disappeared down the hall. Molly let out a deep breath and began walking again.

Just when Lily thought they'd never stop climbing stairs, they came to a stop in front of a large portrait of a lady wearing a pink frilly dress. She smiled at the first years, before saying in a very thick English accent, "Password?"

"Flabergoat," Molly said loudly so that the students in the back could hear. "Remember that, or you won't be able to get into our common room," she warned as the picture opened and she climbed through a hole.

"Like we'll ever find our way back up here again, anyways," Sirius muttered.

Slowly all the first years climbed in, moving to the back of the room. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," a prefect named Tom Mead said as they all crowded in. "The girl's dormitories are up the stairs to the right, the boys the same on your left. First years names are on the doors."

Lily bid good night to Remus, Sirius, Peter and James as she climbed up the stairs to the right and found a door half way up with her name on it. She pushed it open, seeing another girl with shoulder length brown hair already sitting on the bed to the left of a large window.

Lily found her trunk at the end of one of the five four-poster beds next to the other girls. "Hi! I'm Alexis Wells, what's your name?"

"Lily Evans," Lily replied, shaking the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled, taking out a gown from her trunk. "I'm so happy to be in Gryffindor, is it where you wanted to be?"

"Yes," Lily answered, also sliding a gown over her head.

Just then the door opened and a set of identical twins came in, followed by a short girl. The twins, Gabrielle and Kathleen, were the most identical twins Lily had ever seen. They wore the same clothes, had the same hair style and Lily soon found out, ended each other's sentences.

The last of her dorm mates was also muggle born, like Lily. Unlike Lily, though, she didn't have Sirius, James, Remus and Peter to explain everything to her. She looked around like a frightened rabbit at the other four girls. She tried to open her trunk, struggling for a minute while Gabrielle and Kathleen talked to Alexis.

"Is it stuck?" Lily asked in what she hoped was a friendly way, making her way over to the girl. Said girl jumped slightly when Lily approached her and nodded.

Lily tried to open it, but to no avail. Biting her lip, she suddenly had an idea. "Hold on," she said, going to her own trunk and getting out her wand. The other three girls stopped talking to watch her. "_Alohomora_," Lily said, praying she said it right. The trunk snapped open.

"Thank you!" the girl breathed, looking up at Lily in awe. Lily flushed, putting her wand away.

"Where'd you learn that?" Gabrielle asked, breaking the silence.

Lily shrugged, pulling her covers back. "Standard Book of Spells, chapter seven."

"Cool," Kathleen said, Alexis nodding beside her. "What's your name?" she asked of the muggle born girl.

"Ma-Madison," the girl said, looking nervous again.

Alexis smiled at her. "My name is Alexis, this is Kathleen and Gabrielle, or maybe the other way around. Who knows?" she laughed. "And that is Lily."

"Hi," Lily said, smiling. "You're muggle born, aren't you?" Lily asked. Madison's face paled as she nodded. "Don't worry, I am, too. If you have any questions, you can ask me, ok? I have some friends who explained a lot to me."

"You can ask any of us," Gabrielle added.

"We don't mind," Kathleen said.

"Anytime," Alexis added, climbing into her bed. "After a good night's sleep, that is."

Madison laughed, looking relived to know she wasn't the only muggle born, and that perhaps it wasn't as bad as she was thinking. Soon they all climbed into their beds, pulling the curtains around.

Lily laid awake for some time, thinking about her day. It certainly was different than her other schools. She seemed to belong here. With a smile on her face, she fell asleep.

**Please Review**


	4. Lily Evans Part 4

**I DON'T OWN THIS STORY - BETHANY1 DOES.**

_30 October 1971_

Dear Mum and Dad,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm doing great here, though I miss you terribly! It seems so hard to believe that I've been here for almost two months! The school is wonderful. I love my classes, especially charms class. Professor Flitwick said I have a natural talent for it. We learned how to make things fly this week, it was great! James and I had a race with our feathers. I won, of course.

The Halloween feast is only a day away, everyone is excited. Hagrid, the ground keeper, has been growing some beautiful pumpkins for our decorations. He showed them to me yesterday, though I think he's helping them along with magic. They're huge!

The first Quidditch match of the season is the first of November. I'm very excited. It's Gryffindor, the house I'm in, against Slytherin. Molly told me that Gryffindor hasn't beat Slytherin in three years, I hope we win this year! It would be great to win the house cup. (That's an award the house with the most points gets. Remember in my last letter when I told you about the house points?)

I have to run now, I don't want to be late for Transfiguration. Sirius and James were late our first day, that's when we all found out that Professor McGonagall is an animagus (a witch or wizard who can turn into an animal at will) and turns into a cat. They thought they had beat her to the room, when she was sitting on the desk watching them the entire time. It was funny! I don't think I've ever seen Sirius stutter so much.

Everyone is well, except Remus. I'm really quite worried about him. He hasn't been looking good for a couple of days, and now he's in the hospital wing. Madam Promfrey won't let us see him at all. I feel so bad for him, last month his mother was sick, and now he is. I'm very sure that the nurse can get him back to health again, though. She's very efficient.

James, Peter and Sirius said to tell you 'hi'. Tell Petunia I said 'hi', though I doubt she'll care. The last time I tried to send her a letter by Morgana, my poor owl wouldn't come near me for two days. Write back when you can, as I will write again soon.

Much love,  
Lily

Lily Evans neatly folded her parchment and slide it into an envelope, sealed it with some candle wax and stood up. It was five minutes before class started and most of the common room had cleared out, leaving Lily to herself. Picking up her school bag, she stuffed the letter to her parents in a side pocket and headed towards Transfiguration.

She hurried through the nearly empty halls, her shoes clicking on the stone floor as she went. She had barely slid into her chair when the bell rang and Professor McGonagall came out of her office at the end of the classroom.

Minerva McGonagall had the air of a very stern witch, regardless if this was her first year teaching or not. She always wore her solid black hair back in a bun and hunter green robes. But it wasn't her appearance that made even James and Sirius snap to attention, it was the look she gave you when she caught you misbehaving. Since their first encounter with the new teacher, Sirius had deemed it _the look_. It wasn't something Lily ever wanted directed at herself.

"Good day," McGonagall said as she sat down at her desk. She skimmed over the classroom, mentally taking roll. Satisfied that her entire class, save Remus, was present, she stood up. "Today we will be transfiguring beetles into buttons. If everyone will please turn to page 183 in your books."

By the end of class Lily had successfully transfigured all of her eight beetles into buttons. She had tried to help Peter, but it was a lost cause. An hour later his buttons were still running across the table. James and Sirius, of course, had transfigured all of theirs the first try and had since then amused themselves by making them fly around in the air while Professor McGonagall's back was turned.

The bell rang and everyone gathered their belongings and started off to their next class. For the Gryffindors, it was History of Magic. Lily wasn't much looking forward to the class. Not only was it a boring subject, but it was made more so by their teacher, Professor Binns. He was their only ghost teacher, who talked in a endlessly tone dead voice that bored most students to sleep within a few minutes. The only interesting thing that happened was when Binns came to class through the blackboard.

Lily forced herself to stay awake long enough to take notes, glancing sideways at James, Sirius and Peter, who was conversing it low tones over a piece of parchment. Shaking her head, she once more dipped her quill in her ink and jotted down another note.

At the end of class, Lily gathered her belongings and was headed out the door when she heard someone call her name. Pausing, she glanced back and seen James running to catch up with her, followed by Sirius and Peter, who both had doubting looks on their face. "Lily," James huffed out as he came to her left side. "I wondered if we could have a word?"

Lily raised a eyebrow questionably. "Oh?"

Sirius was on her other side so that she was squished between the two taller boys. They steered her out of the hall and out a side door into the sunlight. The sky was clear and the wind crisp, preparing for winter. They came around the side of the building and stopped, all three looking serious.

James began after a pointed look from Sirius. "We are in need of your services."

"It's a very good cause," Sirius added.

Peter nodded assuredly.

Lily could tell by the looks on their faces that whatever it was, it was against school rules. Biting her lip, she adjusted her books in her arms. "And who are you pulling a prank on this time? Because I know it was you three that turned Nick Brown's hair blue, set off dung bombs in the prefects dormitory," she added, giving them a rueful look. "And I would almost bet a hundred galleons it was you that also exchanged Professor Walsh's potions with pumpkin juice."

Sirius and James had identically hurt looks upon their faces. It would take someone who knew them as Lily did, however, to know they wore guilty expressions just beneath. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, giving all three of them disapproving looks. "Guys, I'm not dumb. You have guilty written all over your faces."

"We do?" James said, feigning surprise.

Sirius started searching James face over from different angles. "Oh, wait, just there-"

"You, too!" James said, pretending astonishment and pointing to Sirius' face. At once both turned towards Peter. "Look! Peter, it's written just there!" they exclaimed, putting their forefinger to his forehead.

Lily shook her head, trying to keep a smile from pulling at her lips. As quickly as the three began, they all stopped and turned pleading eyes towards her. "So what do you say, Lil? Please?" James drawled, large brown eyes staring at her intently.

Lily finally failed at keeping a smile from her lips, however small she allowed it. She threw her arms up in defeat, rolling her eyes. "Ok, ok. What is your master scheme this time?"

James' eyes glowed as he put his arm around her, Sirius closing in on the other side. They began walking, Peter trailing along beside Sirius. Lily often wondered how Peter came to be a part of the two, it wasn't a match she would have made from appearances. Peter was small, not that good in class, and seemingly frightened at everything. A polar opposite of the two smartest, quirkiest boys in first year.

"You see, tomorrow is Halloween..." Sirius began.

Lily, once again, couldn't believe what she was doing. She had long since figured out that perhaps the only reason they had enlisted her help was because the brains behind most of their operations was laying in the hospital wing. Since the day on the Hogwarts Express, you'd never know by watching them that Remus hadn't known Sirius and James most of their lives. It was as if there was an invisible chain linking them all together; if you seen James, you seen Sirius, Remus and Peter within five feet. It seemed odd that Remus wasn't with them now.

Making sure that Madison, Kathleen, Gabrielle and Alexis were asleep, Lily stealthily made her way down to the Gryffindor common room. As she came down the steps, the clock chimed midnight. Waiting for her in front of the smoldering fireplace was Sirius, James and Peter; all wearing black cloaks. Lily pulled her own around her shoulders, buttoning it at the collar. James nodded and motioned for them to follow him. They climbed out of the portrait hole, shutting it gently so as to not wake the Fat Lady.

It was then that Lily noticed James pull out a cloak he had been holding. It was an odd color, changing between gold and silver. "What's that for?" she whispered.

James only grinned and wrapped it around his shoulders. If Lily hadn't learned in the last two months that anything was possible in the magical world, she surely would have not believed her eyes. She watched as James' body completely disappeared under the cloak.

"What...?" Lily mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Sirius grinned, pulling the cloak out so he could also disappear under it. "An invisibility cloak," Peter said, grinning as well. "Come on."

Lily, looking doubtful, stared at the place that the three boys had stood a moment before. There was no trace of them. "James? Sirius? Peter?" she whispered, suddenly thinking this might be a joke. A well thought out one, but a joke nonetheless.

"Come on Lily," Sirius urged, peeking out from under the cloak. "This thing is huge, there is enough room for all of us. Now get under here before we get caught!"

Doubting her sanity, Lily done as she was told. The four of them slowly made their way downstairs and into the main hall. Lily felt her breath catch in her throat as Peeves the Poltergeist went zooming over head, but he didn't see them. They made their way into the Great Hall where hundreds of pumpkins were flying over head. Making sure they were indeed alone, Sirius pulled the cloak from them. "Do you know what spell you'll use?" he asked Lily as they made their way to the Slytherin table. Lily nodded, hardly believing what she was about to do. "Ok then, let's get started."

An hour later they once again came to the landing to the entrance to Gryffindor tower. James mumbled the password, and without opening her eyes, the Fat Lady said "If you say so" and swung open. The four hurried through the hole and collapsed into chairs before the fireplace.

Suddenly Sirius grinned, the light catching his eyes and making them seemingly glow. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."

Lily's heart was still racing, even though they were safely back in their common room. "I can't believe you three talked me into helping you."

James grinned as well, reaching over to pat Lily on the head. "We'll make a good prankster out of you yet, Lil."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Lily retorted, rolling her green eyes over to Peter, who was looking quite sober. "What's the matter, Peter?"

Peter sighed. "Remus should have been with us."

Sirius' eyes turned dark. "I wonder what's wrong with him? That stupid nurse up there won't let us see him."

"Maybe it's contagious?" Lily suggested. "You know, he was looking like he had just gotten over something horrid when I seen him in Diagon Alley. Maybe he just gets sick a lot."

James nodded thoughtfully, but Sirius didn't look convinced. Despite how much she was also worried about Remus, Lily's eyes were burning madly. Yawning, she stood up. "I'm heading to bed, and I suggest you three do the same. Don't want to be late for Transfiguration again," she said, grinning over at Sirius.

The next day classes seemed to take twice as long as usual, and even more so for Lily, James, Sirius and Peter. When finally the last bell rang, the students tore into the castle and up to their dormitories to put away their school things. Lily hung behind her room mates as they left for the Great Hall. Finally she spotted James descending from the boys stairwell, followed closely by the other two boys. "Come on, we don't want to miss this feast," Sirius quirked, grinning evilly. Nervously, Lily followed.

The blood was rushing to Lily's ears loudly as they entered the hall. Quickly she took her seat between James and Madison and waited for the start of feast.

If James, Sirius or Peter were nervous about what they had done, they didn't show it. Lily found it hard to eat any of the delicious food placed before her, but the three boys ate like they always did.

"Lily, you going to eat that?" Madison asked, pointing to a large piece of pumpkin pie. Lily shook her head. Instead of taking the pie, the blonde next to her raised an eyebrow at Lily. "Anything wrong?"

Across the table, Gabrielle and Kathleen both swung their heads over to look at Lily. "No, I'm fine," Lily lied, staring at the pumpkins floating lazily above the Slytherin table.

"She's had too many sweets, if you ask me," Mundungus Fletcher said, grabbing the piece of pie that Madison had been asking about earlier.

"Hey now!"

"Just trying to help Lil out!" Fletcher said defensively as he took a bite of pie. Lily couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"I doubt that!" Sirius suddenly said rather loudly.

Lily, Madison, Gabrielle and Kathleen all gave him a shocked look. Sirius, paying no attention, continued his conversation with Brian Mantooth, a fourth year. "The little wrench stole that idea from us, I'd wager."

"All we'll have to do is beat him to it," James said calmly. Peter looked horrified.

"To what?" Lily asked.

James turned around, keeping his voice so low that Madison and the twins had to strain to hear him. "Sirius and I were going to see if we couldn't get close to that whomping willow. Davey Gudgeon, in Ravenclaw, told Brian that he was going to do it first." James shrugged, as if he were planning to go on a stroll rather than get near a tree that hit back. Lily's eyes grew wide.

Any tongue lashings she was about to give were halted abruptly, though. There was a scream that pierced through the Great Hall, stopping all conversations. Lily felt her heart drop to her stomach as she realized what it meant.

It was quite one thing to talk about something, plan it, or even follow through. It was quite another to see the product of your work.

Lily watched in fearful amazement as every one of the pumpkins, that just seconds before were floating lazily over the Slytherin table, tipped upside down and poured green slime over every single Slytherin's head. Somewhere, someone laughed, making way for a tidal wave of laughter from the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables.

Transfixed, Lily stared at the table of students as they all stood up, some yelling, others cursing, as green slime caked their heads. Beside her, James, Sirius and Peter were in tears from laughter.

"Do you reckon," Sirius choked out between his laughter. "That this will make ole' grease head wash his hair?"

"Doubt it," James replied, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Wait til' we tell Remus about this," Peter said between his own giggles.

Lily forced laughter from her lips. Sure, it was a funny sight, but then why did she feel so guilty? James, Sirius and Peter sure didn't. Was there a trick to being able to pull pranks and not feel bad because of it? She wondered if she'd ever be able to.

The Halloween feast ended early as a result of the Slytherin table incident. No one could quite figure out who was responsible, so no punishment had been laid. James, Sirius and Peter knew better than to brag, so the only people who knew they had done it was themselves and Lily.

Lily had found out the hard way, though, that she'd rather not be in on the jokes. She found them much more amusing when they surprised her as well. Fueled by their past success, James, Sirius and Peter could be found planning out their next attack in the common room. When asked if she wanted to join, Lily politely told them no.

On the first Saturday in November the student body all bundled up in their winter cloaks and set off for the Quidditch field. Lily found the atmosphere was intoxicating. Every Gryffindor carried flags or banners, painted in gold and red, to support their house. Huddled between Sirius and Alexis, Lily watched field as Madam Hooch, the flying instructor and Quidditch referee, walked out on the field. Mundungus Fletcher, a third year Gryffindor, was doing commentary.

"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season!" his magically amplified voice rang out of the cheers of students. "Today's match is Gryffindor versus Slytherin!"

The crowd broke out in cheers so loud that Lily couldn't hear herself think. From the left side of the field, seven people zoomed out on broomsticks. The Gryffindor team done a few laps around the stadium before settling over Madam Hooch. A second later, the Slytherin team, dressed in green and silver, came flying out of the right side of the stadium. There were several hisses from the Gryffindors that were drowned out by the cheers of the Slytherins.

"There goes the bludgers," Fletcher was saying. "Followed by the golden snitch. The quaffle is released and they're off!"

It was hard to tell who was doing what unless you listened to Fletcher. Some of the players were flying so fast, as well as bludgers zooming here and there, it was simply impossible to know what was happening. Lily kept a keen ear out as she watched the students fly around.

"Emily Tankard has the quaffle, she's closing in - SCORE! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor side screamed loudly. Lily could barely make out the Slytherin captain saying something to their keeper that made him raise his fist.

"It's Roberts to Grim to Roberts - wait, Slytherin captain Todd Vixon made the slip. It's Vixon to Morgan. Morgan barely misses a bludger - dang! - goes for the goal... HAHA! Blocked by Tony Dunn!"

Back and forth the quaffle went for nearly an hour. Both teams scored over and over again, but still there was no sign of the snitch. The Gryffindor seeker was flying around in a giant circle above the field, but hadn't seen it yet.

Suddenly James shouted out from beside Sirius, loud enough that Lily could hear. "I see the snitch, why can't he? Is he blind!" he roared, looking like it was a crime to not see the snitch from that far up. Lily followed James gaze and seen the snitch hovering just a few feet above the ground near the Slytherin goal. Luckily, the Slytherin seeker hadn't seen it, either.

"Slytherin in possession, Vixon of Slytherin heading for-Whoa! There goes Curtis Wood of Gryffindor, he's seen the snitch!"

Everyone's eyes seemed to follow Curtis Wood as he dived towards the ground. The Slytherin seeker was close at his heels. Suddenly Wood pulled out of his dive, looking around in a confused manner. The snitch had disappeared again. There was a large "Ooooh" from the crowd as Fletcher once more started back up on who had the quaffle.

"Gryffindor in possession. Watch that bludger! Tankard passes to Grim - he goes for the goal - agh, no! Intercepted by Morgan. He's coming in for a goal-Score! Slytherin's up ten points, making the score sixty to fifty, Slytherin."

"BOO!" the Gryffindors hissed as Tony Vixon once more took hold of the quaffle and started to score again. Suddenly there was a loud explosion of screams from the Hufflepuffs. Lily took her eyes off the Gryffindor goals just in time to see the Slytherin seeker pull out of a dive, his fist raised. In it he held the golden snitch.

Madam Hooch's whistle blew shrilly. "Slytherin wins!"

"Damn!" James swore. "I could have caught that snitch. Our seeker is horrible!" he stated. On and on he went to anyone who would listen as they made their way back up to the castle. Lily couldn't help but agree with him, they didn't have the best seeker. From the talk in the common room that night, they hadn't had a good seeker in a while. Their current seeker, Curtis Wood, graduated this year. James swore up and down the rest of the night he was trying out for seeker next year. Sirius agreed with him whole heartedly, also stating he wanted to try out for beater.

The disappointment of Saturday's game held around until Monday, when they all returned to class. Potions became even more unbearable than normal, since the Slytherins were quick to point out the faults of the Gryffindor team. Lily was glad when the day was over and she could retire to the common room to do her homework.

Remus returned from the hospital wing that evening, looking thin and worn. Indeed, whatever it was he had caught, had sent him for a loop. There was dark lines under his eyes and he seemed very tired. Lily was alone in the common room, finishing up her homework on boggarts for Defense Against the Dark Arts when the portrait swung open and revealed Remus. He gave her a tired smile when she looked up. "Hey Lily."

"Remus!" Lily exclaimed, abandoning her parchment. "Are you feeling better? We've been worried," she chastised lightly, wagging a finger in front of him. "Sirius, James and Peter have been trying to see you all week, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let us near the hospital wing."

Remus grimpsed. "Just a bad cold. I'm fine. You shouldn't have worried," he said, taking a seat. He looked as if he would fall over if he didn't. "What have I missed?" he asked quickly. Lily thought he seemed eager to change the subject.

"Oh dear, where to begin," Lily mumbled, remembering everything from Halloween night on. She told Remus about the prank they had pulled all the way up to Slytherin beating Gryffindor. "I can't stand the shame," she admitted.

"Someone had to win," Remus said pleasantly. "Though I had heard rumors we had a bad team." He pushed a stay lock of brown hair from his forehead. "Professor McGonagall told me you had a list of the work I missed. I might as well get started on it."

Lily nodded, worry still nagging her mind as she handed Remus a roll of parchment with all his assignments on it. Something didn't add up, though Lily couldn't put her finger on it. It wasn't anything Remus had said, it was more what he wasn't saying. _I'm just being paranoid,_ she thought. _Remus wouldn't lie to us._

A few days later Remus looked fine again. And the four pranksters were back in full swing. It was amusing, in a way, to see how the four friends balanced each other out. James and Sirius by far were the leaders of their little group. Both had outgoing personalities that drew lots of people to them, they talked back and forth off each other like they had been doing it their entire lives. Both displayed their charming abilities to perfection, which got them out of more than one tight spot. And both of them were top in all their classes, amazing even Professor McGonagall. Remus was obviously the voice of common sense behind their operations. Late in the evenings he could be heard pointing out flaws in a plan or fine tuning some of James and Sirius' more far fetched ideas. Peter, however, seemed to live to do their bidding. He didn't quite fit in with the other three, but still followed them around. Lily was glad he had friends like James, Sirius and Remus, though. She figured that he would be a great source of teasing if he wasn't being protected by the other three.

And protected he was. The four boys were great fun, unless someone said something out of line to one of them. Which made tension between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses worse than normal. If you insulted one, you insulted them all. Each of them were fiercely protective of the other three and they had came to Lily's rescue a couple of times, as well.

Lily didn't have trouble getting along with people, quite the contrary. But it was a well known fact that Slytherin's hated muggle borns, and Lily was especially loathed because she done so well in her classes.

She hadn't known just how much, though, until mid December.

Potions had been as bad as ever. Professor Walsh favored her house, and didn't care to show it. Which wouldn't have been so bad if Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't have her class together. Tempers were always running high by the time the hour was up.

Lily quickly stuffed her books in her bag and headed out of the classroom, eager to get outside into the crisp December air and away from the dungeons when she knocked into a Slytherin. By having class with them, and from her first day in Diagon Alley, she knew it was Severus Snape she had knocked head first into. The books in his arms went flying across the hall and both him and Lily fell back.

"Sorry!" Lily squeaked, getting to her feet with some help from Sirius who was standing behind her. Lily went to get her bag, but Peter had already picked it up.

"I should make you sorry," Snape hissed as he got back to his feet, glaring at her. Lily's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Sirius was speaking.

"She said she was sorry, Snape. Now leave her alone," he threatened.

"And if I don't? What are you going to do about it?" Snape asked in a low, greasy sort of voice.

Much to Lily's horror, Sirius and James both drew their wands.

"You don't want to know," James replied.

Snape looked like he wanted to reach for his wand, but thought better of it since James, Sirius and now Remus had theirs on him. There was a small crowd growing around them. "Guys, don't..." Lily pleaded.

"You better listen to your little mudblood girlfriend," Snape growled.

Lily had no clue what he had just called her, but within seconds pandemonium had broken out in the hall. Sirius and James, wands forgotten, had lunged forward. Gryffindors were calling out angrily all around, arguing with some Slytherins who had witnessed as well. Some were getting into fights and the sounds of hexes being thrown roared in Lily's ears.

Then suddenly, after what seemed like forever, though it could have only been a minute or so, a voice rang out. Professor Walsh nearly threw some students to the side as she made her way to the center of the mess, where Sirius and James had Snape pinned to the ground. "What is the meaning of this?" she roared, glaring at the Gryffindors. Some of the Slytherins were smiling smugly.

"Lily fell-"

"She knocked him over, Professor!"

"And Snape called-"

"Got attacked by those-!"

"A mudblood-!"

"SILENCE!"

The entire hall fell silent. Welsh looked around, pointed to a Slytherin girl and said "Explain."

An evil sort of smile formed on the girl's lips. "Professor, Evans knocked Severus to the ground and then Potter and Black gained up on him."

Most of the Gryffindors shouted in outrage at her story, but Walsh wouldn't hear any of it. She waved her hand to silence everyone again, and said in a very sultry voice. "Five points will be taken from every Gryffindor in this hallway." And with that, she turned on her heel and went back into the classroom. Lily felt like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out.

Mumbling angrily, the Gryffindors again started up the steps to go to Herbology.

Lily was planning on spending the afternoon in her room, away from all the eyes of her fellow first years and even some of the higher grades. In all Walsh had taken seventy-five points from Gryffindor and Lily knew it was her fault for not watching where she was going.

She fought back tears all day, and avoided everyone, skipping dinner so as to not be in the Great Hall. She had just opened the door to her room when she was greeted by Morgana sitting on the window seal. Tied to her leg was a piece of parchment.

Curiously, Lily untied the letter and opened it. The note was written in untidy scrawl that she could barely read.

_Lily,  
Was wondering if yeh want a cup o' tea with me this afternoon.  
Come as soon as yeh'r last class is over if yeh want ter._

Hagrid

Lily stared at the parchment in total disbelief. Hagrid was the grounds keeper, a giant of a man that, since the incident the first night of school, had proven himself to be a very nice person. Lily ran into him often on the grounds and he would start talking about different creatures and things in the Forbidden Forest.

Her curiosity peeked, Lily decided that she would join him for tea. At least he would get her mind off what had happened today. Besides, she had yet to find out what a Mudblood was, since she was afraid to ask James, Sirius or Remus about it.

Slipping past the Great Hall, she hurried out a side door and across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid lived in a small hut just on the outskirts with his boar hound, Curly. Lily slowed down when she came to the hut and knocked quickly. Curly's barks came loudly, followed by Hagrid's footsteps. "Lily!" he greeted with a large smile, holding the door open. "Didn' reckin yeh'd come for a min'te."

"Hello Hagrid," Lily smiled, going in and taking off her cloak. She sat down in a chair three times the size of a normal one. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Any time," the giant said, bustling around the kitchen area of the cabin for a moment. "Have tea ready in a min'te."

Lily suddenly felt like she shouldn't have came. Her mind was too preoccupied with what had happened at school that day to be properly paying attention to Hagrid. He didn't seem to mind (or notice) though, he made them a plate of cakes and brought tea. Saying nothing, he poured Lily and himself a cup. "There yeh go."

"Thanks," Lily repeated, automatically bringing the cup up to her lips.

Hagrid glanced at her over the rim of his cup thoughtfully for a moment before putting it down. "I heard what happen'd at the school today. An' I'm here ter tell yeh, don' let it get ter yeh. There ain't a person in that school better than yeh are."

Lily forced herself to swallow the piece of cake she had picked up, putting it down quickly and making a mental note not to try it again. She started to just agree with him, even if she didn't know what the word had meant. But... surely Hagrid wouldn't laugh at her, right?

"Er-Hagrid, I... I don't even know what it meant. I mean, I could tell it was bad, from the way James and Sirius lunged at Severus. But..."

Hagrid's eyes grew small for a moment. "Mudblood is a really bad name for som'one w'th muggle parents. Som' wizards, like the Snape's, reckin it's bad to have muggle parents. But see, most wizards an' witches is half an'ways. Had to, or we'd died out. Notin' wrong w'it at all."

Lily didn't think she felt any better after hearing what it meant. Instead, she sighed inwardly, feeling even worse for getting the whole of Gryffindor first years in trouble because she was muggle born. It seemed what she thought that day at Diagon Alley was true, she was different in this world as well as the muggle one.

"Tha-" There was a knock at the door cut her off.

Curiously, Hagrid got to his feet and opened the door, Curly barking madly at his feet. Lily couldn't see past him, since his figure covered the entire doorway, so she tried to listen. What she heard was four voices ringing in unison. "Is Lily here?"

_Oh no,_ she thought, burying her face in her hands. It was James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Hagrid stood back and allowed them to see Lily sitting in the chair by the fire. They came in, looking around the small cabin with interest. Lily thought they must not have been in Hagrid's cabin before, since they looked slightly uncomfortable.

"An' of you four want tea?" Hagrid asked from the kitchen.

They all stared at him for a moment. Finally James spoke up. "Actually, we just wanted to talk to Lily for a minute." He turned his gaze towards Lily.

"Um, ok," Lily mumbled, getting up. The four of them filed out of the cabin, waiting for her to join them. Hagrid gave her a smile as she put her cloak on. "Thank you Hagrid."

"Anytime, Lily."

Reluctantly Lily left the cabin and went out into the cold night. With the sun down, the lights on the castle seemed to sparkle and the forbidden forest looked haunted and evil from where she stood. Repressing a shiver, she hurried up to where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter stood waiting for her.

For a moment no one said anything, then awkwardly, James said, "Are you alright?"

Of the things she expected to hear from them, that certainly wasn't one of them. "I guess," she replied, eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"Well, we figured, with what happened today," Sirius said, but something on Lily's face made him stop.

Remus gave him a pointed look that clearly said he was an idiot. Then, obviously deciding he could say what they wanted better, he began, "We just didn't want you to think we were mad at you or anything. We noticed you weren't at dinner, and thought to come look for you."

"I wasn't hungry," Lily told him. But she could tell right away they didn't believe her. Not able to resist the stares the four of them were giving her, she bit her lip and said softly, "Look, if I had been watching where I was going today I wouldn't have knocked into Snape. He wouldn't have called me a mudblood and Gryffindor wouldn't have lost seventy-five points. I didn't feel like going to dinner to face the stares, whispers and what not."

Satisfied they had gotten the truth from her, they visibly relaxed. "Come on Lil, no one thinks it's your fault. If they do, I'll hex them," James said easily, causing Lily to giggle.

"Besides, we have something truly evil planned for revenge. Don't worry," Sirius grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes. For them, this was the perfect excuse to pull another prank on somebody. They started back up into the castle when Lily's stomach gave a small rumble. She blushed visibly. "I wish I hadn't skipped dinner," she mumbled, looking towards the empty Great Hall as they passed.

Sirius suddenly stopped, causing the rest of them to nearly collide into him. "Come on!" he said, looking around briefly before heading to the Great Hall. Lily raised an eyebrow; the only time one of them had that look is when they were up to something.

She followed them to a hall on the other side of the teacher's table that she hadn't noticed before. There she seen many large paintings with pictures of different foods on them. Checking again to make sure no one was looking, Sirius went up to a picture of a large fruit bowl and tickled the pear. Lily jumped slightly when the pear not only laughed, but produced a door handle. Giving it a tug, the four of them slipped inside.

Beyond that painting was the largest kitchen Lily had ever laid eyes on. Everywhere she looked was fires, sinks and more cooking utensils than she'd seen in her life. Suddenly the sound of many footsteps could be heard coming near them. Fearfully Lily stepped behind James, still looking out curiously.

Before them was about fifty small creatures with skinny bodies, large heads and bat-like ears. All of them had their huge eyes plastered on Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter like they had never seen anything quite like them. Each of these creatures wore strange shaped garments and hats with the Hogwarts symbol on it. One of them came forward slowly, it's huge green eyes staring at Sirius. "Sirs and Misses, hows can we be helping you?"

"What do you want to eat Lily?" Sirius asked, laughing at the look on her face.

"Er-just a turkey sandwich and some pumpkin juice," Lily replied uncertainly. At least half of the creatures took off towards the other end of the kitchen.

"I'll take some treacle pudding, please," Peter said, smiling as at least five of them went running.

"W-What are those things?" Lily asked uncertainly, stepping out from behind James now that she seen they weren't going to do any harm.

"House elves," James supplied, taking a cake off a tray one of them had offered. "Dead helpful things, house elves. They'd cook up a huge feast if you ask them to. We have a couple at my house."

Lily looked over to the left where four large tables that looked identical to the ones in the Great Hall were sitting. James, noticing her gaze, swallowed his cake. "They cook the food and put it on that table then it's magiked up to us. Pretty neat, eh?"

Nodding, Lily noticed that one of the house elves was standing in front of her, holding up a golden tray with a large turkey sandwich on it and a goblet of pumpkin juice. "Thank you," she said, taking them.

The house elf bowed as he backed away, it's large brown eyes staring up at her to see if she required anything else.

Lily finished what she could eat of the huge sandwich and washed it down with pumpkin juice. One of the elves quickly came rushing up to take her plate and goblet as another brought a tray of deserts. Still munching on cakes, the five of them left the kitchens and headed to the Gryffindor common room.

When they came in the common room, however, several of the oldest students sent glares Lily's way. James and Sirius again looked like they might blow up. Remus had a hold of the back of Sirius' robes just in case. Right about that time, though, Molly came down the stairs to tell everyone to get to bed. Slowly the common room cleared out.

By the next afternoon everyone had heard the reason behind the loss of points to Gryffindor and unlike Lily feared, no one blamed her. Tension between the Gryffindors and Slytherins was at an all time high after this. So it was a relief when Christmas holidays came and most everyone went home. Lily, not looking forward to another encounter with Petunia, signed up to stay at Hogwarts.

The following two weeks without classes was very enjoyable. There was only a handful of students who didn't go home, among them James, Sirius, Remus, two third year Hufflepuffs girls who were sisters and a first year Ravenclaw boy. Lily took full advantage of being the only Gryffindor girl to stay by taking her time in the shower, and staying up as late as she wanted with the candles lit in her room as she read. On previous nights, if she wanted to stay up, she had to do so under her blankets with her wand as her only light.

James, Sirius and Remus, without anyone to pull pranks on, spent a lot of their time playing exploding snap in the common room. Sometimes Lily watched them, and a couple of times she played. She probably would have played more, except she beat everyone of them except Remus.

Most of the teachers left over the holidays as well. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, Binns, Hooch and the caretaker were the only ones to stay. Madam Pince and Madam Promfrey stayed on as well, though no one seen them except on Christmas day.

Madam Hooch let them have extra time practicing flying, and even allowed James and Sirius a go at catching the snitch. In four minutes flat James held it in his hand. Madam Hooch's eyes seem to light up and Lily distinctfully heard her mumbling about not looking far for Gryffindor's next seeker. James couldn't have been more happier.

On Christmas day Lily was rudely awoken at the ungodly hour of six am by James, followed quickly by Sirius and Remus. "Oy! Come on Lil! Time to open presents!" James shouted, rushing into her room.

"You aren't suppose to be in here," she said sleepily, looking outside the window. The sun wasn't even up yet. "Ugh! Go away!"

The response was three fireworks being let off in her room. Rolling her eyes, Lily tried once again to bury herself under the mound of blankets on her bed. "Sleep! Must have sleep..."

Suddenly the curtains to her bed was pulled back and she glanced up in time to see James holding a glass of water above her head. Screaming, she leapt off the other side of the bed and not a moment too soon.

"JAMES POTTER!" she yelled, scrambling for her wand. "You'd better run!" she called as he took off out of her room, Remus and Sirius not too far behind. "You're going to pay for that!" Eyes burning, she done a quick drying spell on her bed and put a robe on over her gown.

"Whoa! Brush your hair!" her mirror said gruffly as she slid her house shoes on. Lily ignored it and went down the stairs where the three boys were ripping into a stack of presents.

Not too long after that they were all sitting around in the floor, nearly every inch covered with wrapping paper, eating sweets and messing around with their gifts. James had got a new Wizard Chess Set that him and Remus were currently trying out. Lily watched in horror as the chess pieces would smash their opponents. "How awful!" she exclaimed as one of James' knights was smashed to pieces.

"That's Wizard's Chess. Don't worry, they go back together when the games done," James said. "Check."

"I should hope so."

"Cracker Lily?" Sirius suddenly asked.

Lily stared at a small, brightly colored box with a string hanging out the end. Raising an eyebrow questionably, she pulled the small string and nearly leapt onto the chess board when a large party hat erupted from the box. Sirius burst out into laughter, sticking the hat on Lily's head.

That evening they headed downstairs for Christmas dinner. Professor Dumbledore had cleared away all but one of the tables, which now sat in the middle of the room. He was sitting at the head of this table, talking animatingly to Professor McGonagall as they made their way in. "Ah!" he said pleasantly as the four of them took their seats. "Now that we are all together, let's eat, shall we?"

At his words a large turkey, potatoes, green beans, casseroles and other delicious looking food appeared on the table. It was really a delightful meal. Dumbledore passed out crackers to everyone so that at any given time confetti, hats and even crystal chess pieces erupted out of boxes at the table. Two hours later, Lily almost hated to see it end. Professor McGonagall told everyone to return to their common rooms and the four of them headed up to Gryffindor tower to put away their presents and head to bed.

Just when everything seemed normal again, with Christmas over, something else came up. Remus received an urgent letter from his mother. His mother was ill and had asked for him. Sober faced, the three of them stood in the common room to bid Remus goodbye yet again.

As he left though, something struck Lily as strange. Her mind kept running back over the time she had seen Remus with his mother in Diagon Alley. The woman didn't look all that sick, in fact, she looked in good health. But as Lily watched Remus leave, _he_ didn't look good at all and she couldn't help but wonder if Remus wasn't the one sick and not his mother. Worriedly she stood beside Sirius and James as he left.

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